Cutting machine



Aug. 11.7, 1943.. J. F. MCCASHEN 7,

- I CUTTING MACHINE Filed April 6, 1942 JANA-'5 FMCASHE/V A rrbR/vms axis of the cylinder 5.

Patented Aug. 17, 1943 CUTTING MACHINE James F. McCashen, Bay Village, Ohio, assignor to Rotary Cutters, Ina, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application April 6, 1942, Serial No. 431,729

6 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of cutting materials and is particularly concerned with new and improved apparatus for cuttin oil bearing materials for the purpose of liberating or removing the oil content.

. In the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic, side elevational view of one form of apparatus embodying the present invention and suitable for use in carrying out the present process;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Figures 4 and 5 are, respectively, side and edge views of one form of a suitable, rotatable comminuting member;

Figures 6 and 7 are corresponding views of another and modified formof comminuting member;

Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary detail sectional view taken on line 8-8 'of Fig. 1; and

Figures 9 and 10 are, respectively, side and edge elevational views of a modified form of comminuting means.

The apparatus shown in the drawing is generally like that of United States Patent No. 1,738,918. It has a cylinder l whichis supported on rollers 2 carried by housing 3, so that the cylinder may rotate about 1% longitudinal, horizontally disposed axis. The cylinder is rotated by belt 4 which passes around the greater part of the circumference of the cylinder and is actuated by a pulley 5 driven by a belt 6 from motor 1. The idler roller 8 maintains the desired tension on the belt 4.

Within the cylinder is disposed the rotatable comminuting device generally indicated as an en tirety at ii. This device 9 consists preferably of a plurality of discs i0 secured to a rotatable shaft ii, the longitudinal axis of which is horizontal and is disposed adjacent to the downwardly moving side of the cylinder and below a horizontal plane passing through the axis of cylinder l and well to one side of a vertical plane passing through the same axis. Preferably, the axis of device 9 is disposed on a plane passing thru the axis of the cylinder and inclined between about 30 and 60 degrees to a vertical plane passing through the Device 9 is partly enclosed by housing i2 and is rotated by belt i3 from motor i. Both cylinder i and device 9 rotate in the same direction, but the peripheral speed of device 9 is preferably much greater than that of cylinder 8.

. The periphery of device 9 is preferably roughened, for example, as shown at It and I! in Figs. 4, 5, 6 and '7. It will be noted that the roughening of discs III, as shown in these figures, takes the form of teeth, the leading transverse surfaces of which are substantially perpendicular to the side surface of members l0, and that these teeth may extend forwardly from their roots to their tips in the direction of rotation. These teeth may have outwardly converging side surfaces as shown in Fig. 5, or the teeth may have "set" as in a saw and as is shown in Figs. 6 and '7. It will be understood that device 9 may have various forms other than that shown. For example, it may have an uninterrupted periphery, i. e., one free from teeth such as H and I 5 of Figs. 4 and 6, or it may be a partial'or mutilated disc with a circumferentially extending edge. as shown in Figs. 9 and 10 where the scimitar So has a curved cutting edge 91) which overlaps the ends of similar edges on adjacent members.

A deflector is disposed within cylinder l to divert the material from its travel along a circular path on the inner surface of the cylinder into contact with the comminuting means 9. The deflector shown is triangular in cross section with its-apex being uppermost and with its upper edge l1 resting against the inner surface of cylinder I and its inner surface l9 making an obtuse angle with the inner surface of cylinder I. Deflector I6 is carried by opposite arms 20 rotatably mounted at their upper ends on bolts 2i which project thru slots in brackets 22 secured to housing 3 and blocks 23 which may slide on arcuate guides 24 on brackets 22. The position of deflector i6 may be adjusted by loosening nuts on bolts 2| and shifting blocks 23 and may be fixed by tightening the nuts. This apparatus permit movement of the deflector away from the inner surface of cylinder i and also permits adjustment of the deflector into positions at different distances from device 9.

It will be understood that by placing deflector it in different positions relative to device 9 the material may be deflected so as to strike device 9 more or less radially or tangentially, or between these extremesas desired. It has been found that there is slightly less heating of the material during the comminuting operation when the material strikes device 9 substantiallytangentially than when it strikes device 9 substantially radially. For example, when cocoa beans are being comminuted the temperature of the material may average about degrees F., when it strikes device 9 more or less tangentially as compared with about 130 degrees R, when it strikes more or less radially. However, the speed of comminuting is most ragiid when the material is so deflected to strike d vice 9 more or less radially.

The apparatus of the device shown in the drawing, operates substantially as follows: When the cylinder I and device 9 are being rotated clockwise, as indicatel, a material to be comminuted is brought into the cylinder I, preferably Just above device 9 and between it and the cylinder, altho the material may be brought into contact with the inner surface of cylinder i below the device 9. Such material will immediately be subjected to centrifugal force by the cylinder and will be carried by the cylinder along the circular path of the inner surface of the cylinder. When the material, being so carried by the cylinder I, comes into contact with deflector I 8, the material will be deflected from the circular path of thecylinder and into contact with the roughened'surfaces on device 9. These surfaces, or teeth, will forcibly intercept the thus deflected material and will throw it back onto the inner surface of the cylinder. The sizes of particles of material so intercepted will be reduced by the roughened surfaces on device 9 either by a shearing or breaking operation when the particles strike those surfaces and the edges thereof. Such portions of the material as are not intercepted by the roughened surfaces will pass between members In and will return to the inner surface of the cylinder by reason of their velocity or gravity, or both. Since the material is repeatedly exposed to the air while passing from the cylinder surface to the device 9 and back to that surface with violent agitation in the air, it is thoroughly aerated. Such aeration apparently has a beneficial effect on the comminuted product. It seems to improve the flavor of oils from vegetable materials.

While the above described apparatus is suitable for comminuting a wide variety of materials, it is particularly useful in comminuting oil-bearing materials from which it is desired to liberate or remove the oil content, such forexample, as cocoanut meat, cqcoa beans, peanuts, cotton seeds, palm kernels and in general any vegetable oil-containing materials.

In employing the apparatus of Figs. 1 to 8 and method of this invention on such materials, it

has been found that when the cylinder was about 54 inches in diameter and was rotated at about 115 R. P. M. and there were about 9Q members l0, each about 16 inches in diameter and spaced about A" and filled the space between the said flanges of the cylinder and were rotated at about 2500 R. P. M., about 100 lbs. of dried, shredded cocoanut meat could be reduced to 100 mesh screen size in about 12 minutes. Most of the oil content of the meat is liberated during such comminution and may be separated from the fibers in any suitable manner, if desired.

When cocoa beans, substantially free from hulls, are comminuted by the apparatus just described, about 200 lbs. may be reduced in about 18 minutes to particle sizes such that about 99% will pass thru a 200 mesh screen. It has been noted that when cocoa beans are being so comminuted, a white, thin vapor rises from the ma- .terial during the first few, for example three,

minutes of the comminuting operation and is followed by a thin, bluish vapor which continues to rise during the remainder of the operation. When the beans have been reduced to a coarse size, for example possibly 40 or 50 mesh, the material is dry but as the particles become smaller,

oil is liberated and the material includes more and more liquid until, when the operation is completed, the material contains solids and liquid and has a viscosity of about 28 to 30 on a standard, MacMichael torsion wire viscosimeter. The chocolate liquor" so obtained has a much lower viscosity than the material obtained from the same kind of beans by prior methods, where the viscosity was about to 72. This property of low viscosity is quite valuable in the subseqeunt manufacture of chocolate. Apparently the different viscosities are traceable to differences in shapes of the small particles, the particles comminuted by the present method and apparatus being granular as contrasted with the flattened flake-like particles of prior methods and apparatus. Sugar and/or milk may be added to this "liquor" to make a chocolate.

Furthermore, chocolate made from cocoa beans, cut by the present process, has a distinctly different flavor and quality than chocolate obtained from cocoa beans by prior methods.

Many other materials may be reduced to particle sizes from 50 to 60 mesh down to 100 mesh or finer by the above described apparatus and method. For example, cereals such as wheat and oats may be comminuted with production of particles of substantial uniformity in size and with much less dust, powder or chaff than is possible with prior methods and apparatus. For example, when cereals having hulls, such as wheat, oats and the like, are comminuted by this method and apparatus, both the hulls and the kernels are reduced to small particle sizes without the production of a material amount of bran or hull chaff.

From the foregoing disclosure it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention makes it possible to reduce a wide variety of different materials to particles which are substantially uniform in size and which may range in size from 50 or 60 mesh to 200 mesh; that such fine particles may be obtained much faster and cheaper than has been possible heretofore and without any harmful increase in temperature; and'that the fine materials possess new and improved properties not heretofore obtainable by any prior process or apparatus.

This application is a continuation in part of my copending application Ser. .No. 247,385 filed Dec. 23, 1938, which issued on April 7, 1942, as Patent No. 2,278,459.

Having thus described the present invention so that those skilled in the art may be able to understand and practice it, I state that what I desire to secure by Letters- Patent is defined in what is claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus of the class described comprising a rotatable cylinder having a longitudinal horizontal axis, comminuting means rotatable about a horizontal axis in said cylinder adjacent to the down coming surface of the latter, the axis of said means being disposed on a plane passing through the axis of said cylinder and inclined about a horizontal axis in said cylinder adjacent to the down coming surface of the latter, the axis of said means being disposed on a plane inclined at about 45 degrees to the horizontal and passing through the axis of the cylinder, and means engaging the inner surface of the cylinder to deflect material therefrom onto said comminuting means.

3. Apparatus of the class described comprising a cylinder rotatable about a longitudinal horizontal axis, comminuting means in said cylinder and rotatable about a horizontal axis disposed,

adjacent to the down coming surface of the latter and more than about 25 degrees from the vertical plane thru said cylinder axis, and means engaging the inner surface of the cylinder to deflect material thereon onto the upper portion of said commlnuting means.

4. Apparatus of the class described comprising a cylinder rotatable about a longitudinal horizontal axis and having a smooth cylindrical inner surface, means to rotate said cylinder at a speed sufllciently high to carry solid material thereon under centrifugal force, planar cutting means disposed within said cylinder and rotatable in the same direction as, and at right angles to, the inner surface of said cylinder, said cutting means being disposed out of contact with said inner surface, means to rotate said cutting means, and material deflecting means engaging with the inner surface of the cylinder at an elevation higher than the top of said cutting means to deflect material from said surface through the air and onto the upper portion of the peripheral edges of said cutting means. i

5. Apparatus of the class described comprising a cylinder rotatable about a longitudinal horizontal axis and having a smooth cylindrical inner surface, means to rotate said cylinder at a sufflcient high lineal speed to carry solid material thereon under centrifugal force, planar cutting means disposed within said cylinder and rotatable about an axis parallel to the axis of said cylinder and in the same direction as, and at right angles to. the inner surface of said cylinder, said cutting means being disposed out of contact with said inner surface, means to rotate said cutting means at a higher lineal speed than that of the cylinder, and material deflecting means engaging the inner surface of the cylinder above and to one side of said cutting means to deflect material from the said surface of said cylinder downwardly and inwardly of the cylinder onto the peripheral edges of said cutting means betweenthe upper vertical'radius and the adjacent horizontal radius thereof.

6. Apparatus of the class described comprising a cylinder rotatable about a longitudinal horizontal axis and having a smooth cylindrical innet surface, means to rotate said cylinder at a sufficiently high lineal speed to carry solid material thereon under centrifugal force, planar cutting means disposed within said cylinder and at right angles to the inner downcoming surface thereof, said means being rotatable in the same direction as the inner surface of said cylinder. means to rotate said cutting means at a lineal speed at least as great as the lineal speed of said cylinder, and material deflecting means engaging the downcoming surface of said cylinder above and to one side of said cutting means to deflect material from the surface of said cylinder onto the peripheral edges of said cutting means. JAMES F. McCASI-IEN. 

